3: Preface This autobiography is about various events in my life, and personal aspects/perspectives that have come to light throughout experiences I have gone through. Special thanks to all of my family and friends; my beloved ones who have helped me go through the obstacles in my life to become the person who I am today.

4: Forward This is the Autobiography of James Park. My friend has been through many things in life, changing certain views as he grew up. I am a close friend of James Park who I have known for several years, someone I know by heart and know I can trust. This is a book about his life, on how he dealt with problems he has encountered in his life. His characteristics and personality has shaped the people who have been around him, including me, and got him to where he is today. He will be someone I will know for a long time, and as we grow up, we will shape each other’s lives as we live and breathe. -John Hwang

5: Dedication This autobiography is dedicated to my family, whom I hold very dearly with all my heart. My family is the reason why I'm here today, living and breathing, and being able to do all the things that I do daily.

6: Apology Letter Dear Grandmother, How have you been doing? It’s been an extremely long time since I’ve even bothered to think about speaking to you, or writing to you for that matter. I’m writing because I need to apologize for an extremely large amount of gargantuan things that I haven’t thanked you for. How’s heaven? I’m sure you love it up there; and I know you’re looking down upon me. First of all I just wanted to say thank you. Without you, or grandpa, neither I nor my parents would be alive and here right now. Thank you for taking care of me, and for everything that you’ve done. You’ve been one of the most important people in my life, and I remember the many moments I’ve shared with you at your house; you fed me, took care of me, and told me to always eat my vegetables. I also want to say sorry for not being able to come to your funeral. I was constantly praying for you at summer camp, but I guess God had bigger plans, huh. I just really regret not being able to say goodbye to you; visiting your grave is not the same. I wish I could have seen your face for one last time. I’m sorry, grandmother. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me in my life.

7: Recipe for a Happy Life 1. 3 cups of a constant positive attitude 2. 2 table spoons of treating others the way you want to be treated 3. 10 gallons of being humble and king under any circumstance 4. 4 quarts of smiles! 5. 12039124 kiloliters of love 6. 10 cups of sleep daily 7. 9999 spoons of the Messiah 8. 10 pinches of your family 9. 56 liters of water 10. 20 pounds of food

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9: Selfishness, Taking Things for Granted One of the aspects of humanity is the physical; physical aspects represent the human body, and we need various physical things in order to survive. Examples of these aspects can include anything from the human body to human nature. Known for having variety in the world, human nature is also well known for the focus on oneself, or selfishness. This part of human nature has been an important factor in many things since the very beginning of time; whether it is a global issue, or something in our own neighborhood. Due to the human nature of being selfish, people tend to gain more of a sense of pride, and begin to take things for granted. The world itself has been dominated by humans over the course of millenniums, and human nature has taken its toll on the world; wars have been fought due to selfish desires, arguments take place constantly, and a feeling of necessity of power has engulfed various nations today. Many problems of this world are at fault of human nature; however promising ideas come from these same humans. Again, however, numerous ideas, including things like communism do not fare well at the fault of human nature. Similar to many others, I am also subject to this human nature of selfishness and pride. Whether it may be because I’m a guy, or I’m just an arrogant person in general, I feel like it’s difficult for me to open up and genuinely care for others more so than I care for myself. However, I have learned that setting examples for others is extremely important as well. At a young age, there are people who influence what you do and how you act; ultimately I learned that it is best to set a good example for the younger children around me. Of course, along with having a good influence, it was important for me to realize what I needed to do and that I needed to mature a great amount. Some people only begin to value things when they lose them. Personally when my grandmother had passed away a few years ago, it didn’t occur to me that I never expressed my feelings towards her, or show gratitude and affection when she has done so much for me since I was born. This is more of a learning experience, as people begin to set aside some of their selfishness in order to care and treasure the things that they took for granted. Life is filled with an incredible amount of beautiful things that humanity is blessed with, all of which includes family, friends, food, water, shelter. Instead of being selfish and only caring about ourselves, human nature should be more about positive attitudes and sharing the things we have and take for granted, and I’m seeking to come closer to this goal each and every day. | Selfishness, Taking Things for Granted One of the aspects of humanity is the physical; physical aspects represent the human body, and we need various physical things in order to survive. Examples of these aspects can include anything from the human body to human nature. Known for having variety in the world, human nature is also well known for the focus on oneself, or selfishness. This part of human nature has been an important factor in many things since the very beginning of time; whether it is a global issue, or something in our own neighborhood. Due to the human nature of being selfish, people tend to gain more of a sense of pride, and begin to take things for granted. The world itself has been dominated by humans over the course of millenniums, and human nature has taken its toll on the world; wars have been fought due to selfish desires, arguments take place constantly, and a feeling of necessity of power has engulfed various nations today. Many problems of this world are at fault of human nature; however promising ideas come from these same humans. Again, however, numerous ideas, including things like communism do not fare well at the fault of human nature. Similar to many others, I am also subject to this human nature of selfishness and pride. Whether it may be because I’m a guy, or I’m just an arrogant person in general, I feel like it’s difficult for me to open up and genuinely care for others more so than I care for myself. However, I have learned that setting examples for others is extremely important as well. At a young age, there are people who influence what you do and how you act; ultimately I learned that it is best to set a good example for the younger children around me. Of course, along with having a good influence, it was important for me to realize what I needed to do and that I needed to mature a great amount. Some people only begin to value things when they lose them. Personally when my grandmother had passed away a few years ago, it didn’t occur to me that I never expressed my feelings towards her, or show gratitude and affection when she has done so much for me since I was born. This is more of a learning experience, as people begin to set aside some of their selfishness in order to care and treasure the things that they took for granted. Life is filled with an incredible amount of beautiful things that humanity is blessed with, all of which includes family, friends, food, water, shelter. Instead of being selfish and only caring about ourselves, human nature should be more about positive attitudes and sharing the things we have and take for granted, and I’m seeking to come closer to this goal each and every day.

10: How I See the World A question that I have been repeatedly asking myself over my childhood/teenage years is this: what is the purpose of my existence? Personally, to me, it’s so strange; all of these things around me. Why am I living? Why do I have all these various commodities when others are starving and searching for the slightest bits of food? Ever since I was a young’in, my elders/older people in general told me to eat every morsel of food on my plate and to be thankful for what I have. Thanks to the advice of my family & the wiser elders of my family, my perspective on life has basically been set in stone. I look at others around me, and think to myself either one of two things: “man, I wish I were like them” or “I can’t believe they’re like that; I can’t imagine myself being like that”. There is a well-known quote that goes as follows: “You only have one life so live it to the fullest.” While there may be some truth in that saying, people have taken it way too far over the years, misinterpreting the quote and assuming it means to go above and beyond the extremes.

11: Relationships Personally for me, relationships are one of the most important things in life. Without my family, friends, and the people around me, I do not know how I could ever possibly live. Since the beginning of time, connections/relationships between people grew and relationships were the foundations of much success throughout history. Today, I cherish the relationships that I have with others as my parents and culture today in general take relationships and respect very seriously. It is through the people in my life and the relationships I have with them that drive me to go through each and every day. One of the most obvious relationships is those that I hold with my family. I am and will be forever indebted to them, for all the things that they’ve done for me ever since I was a baby. I am very lucky to have such a wonderful family and blessed to be a part of it. Despite the fact that all my relatives live in Korea, I am still in contact with them, and enjoy finding out how they’re doing from time to time to see how everything is in Korea. Just as making new ones are important, I think it’s just as crucial to sustain that relationship with new people. The kind of people you hang out with/have good relationships generally influence you a lot. For me, I think I’ve changed in many ways because of my friends, and have acted differently in various groups of friends. This is also why you need to surround yourselves with good people and have good relationships with them. Another important relationship that has been a huge part of my life is the relationship I have with God. As a Christian, I try to make sure they my relationship with God is at the best place it can be. Similarly, I try to keep positive relationships with other people as well. Something that I’ve been thinking about lately is my future; the career path I want to take, what I want to do as I get older, etc. and relationships greatly influence all of these various things. The relationships that I have with my peers/beloved ones make me who I am today, and I am thankful for who I am because of these amazing people. However not all of us have great relationships; negative relationships can be either beneficial or hurtful, yet usually leans more towards hurtful. Some say that you should stay away from all negative influences, but in my opinion, you can actually learn from the negative influences as to what not to do. . I believe in facing the negative people in my life rather than hiding from them; however this does not mean that I provoke them or relate to them in any way. I’ve learned from past experiences that your own negative reaction is what people look for, and they strive on it. It was my decision whether or not I would let negative influences get to me, and I chose to be a person that accepts negative relationships and learns from them

12: Home A place of gathering, where hundreds meet. Only once or twice, every week. Being a short ten feet from a Harris Teeter, I see many of my friends, like a guy named Peter. Gray and dull, this thing may seem bland, However it is the people who make MY home grand. Made from glass and bricks, On the top lies two sticks; It is not only built strictly from land, But again, it’s the people who allow it to stand. Music is almost always playing in this building; Food in the kitchen is almost always grilling. Always with arms open wide, This place is really just people who are on your side It’s the church that is my home, Many can say the same.